


Of Apples & Storybooks

by Bolt41319



Series: Of Apples & Storybooks [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-08-26 19:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16687807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt41319/pseuds/Bolt41319
Summary: At the start of her fourth year as a kindergarten teacher, Regina Mills meets Robin Locksley, the attractive new third grade teacher. With their son's budding friendship, they find themselves in an unlikely relationship fueled by coffee and conversation.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to BabyLawyerOQ and Lanaiskhaleesi for the Beta. This fic would have been gone a while ago if it wasn't for the two of you!

Through the window of her classroom, Regina watched as the sun rose. Summer had come and gone in a whirlwind, and the beginning of her fourth year of teaching was about to begin. Her classroom was finally set up, filled with warm hues of purples and blues mixed into a calming watercolor, set up for the 5 year olds that she's yet to meet. 

“Mom, are you ready?” Henry asks. He sits curled up in a bean bag chair in the corner of her reading nook, his head buried into the pillow. The first day of school was always a long one, especially when his mother drug him out of bed to go to school early and get set. 

“I think so,” she smiles. She walks to her lunchbox and pulls out a breakfast sandwich she'd made for them before they left, splits the sandwich down the middle and passes him his half. “Are you ready to start the third grade?” 

He nods, his mouth full of his egg and cheese. “I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet my new teacher. Have you seen him yet?” 

Henry's teacher is new to the area and a recent hire at Storybrooke Elementary. Regina has only heard about him through gossip from her team, but hasn't had the chance to meet him yet. “No, but Mary Margaret said that he got hired only last week, so he wasn’t in any of our meetings this summer.” 

The two continue to chat and eat their sandwiches, filling up their last moments before their year began. 

.::.

In the halls, Robin Locksley juggles a bag of extra supplies he'd picked up, and a sleeping toddler. Roland groans and buries his face into his father's shoulder. “Papa it's too early.”

“I know my boy,” he whispers. “As soon as we get to the classroom, you can go back to sleep, okay? And just think! If you're already here, you'll be the first to get to meet your new teacher. Aren't you excited?” 

Roland shakes his head and rubs his eyes. “Too sleepy to be excited. But do you think my new teacher will be nice?” 

“Oh absolutely,” Robin replies. As they come up on his new classroom, he sets down his bag and unlocks the door. He'd been at the school for several late nights over the past week, setting up for the year to come. It’s his fifth year teaching, but his first year at Storybrooke Elementary. He and Roland moved to Maine a week ago when Marian got a job at the local hospital. Although they weren't together anymore, Robin had refused to let Marian leave with his son, so he packed up his life and followed her to Storybrooke. 

He sets Roland down, who immediately shuffles over to the carpet squares piled into the corner of the classroom library. He plops himself down, pulls a pillow off of the chair next to him, and curls up into a ball. His eyes stares intently at his father, following him as he moves around, adding finishing touches to his classroom and straightening up his desk. 

“Papa, do you think I’ll make friends?”

“Oh I’m sure of it Roland. You’re an amazing kid! Your classmates will love you.” He starts writing directions up on the board for the students, when he feels his son’s hand patting against the side of his leg. 

“Can we go meet her now?” 

Robin looks over at the clock. “Well it's 7 now, and school doesn't start until 8. But maybe in a few minutes we can walk down there and see if she's here yet?” 

Roland nods enthusiastically. “Please! This school is bigger than my old school. I’m gonna get lost, Papa.” 

Robin pulls his son up onto his hip, pressing kisses to his cheeks until a giggle escapes from Roland’s lips. 

“Don't worry, Roland. I know it looks big and new, but remember how nervous we were moving to a new town? And how fun it turned out to be? This is the same thing. You'll make new friends and by next week, it won't feel so new anymore. And if you ever need anything, I'm always right down the hall.” 

Roland wraps his arms around his father and squeezes with as much strength as a 5 year old can muster. “Can we go find her now?” 

Robin nods and slides Roland to his hip, pulling the Thor backpack up off of the floor and shifting it onto his other shoulder. “Sure, my boy. Let’s go see if she’s here.” 

.::.

Henry stretches up on the chair he’s standing on, holding up the “Welcome to Kindergarten” sign his mother was trying to hang in the doorway. She'd run back into the classroom to get more tape, so he is stuck waiting patiently for her return. 

“Need a little help there?” He turns at the voice and nods. 

“Please! My mom was coming back but now my arm hurts,” he passes off his end of the sign to the tall stranger. He climbs down off the chair and stands in front of the little kid that the man had just set down. “Hi! I'm Henry.” 

Roland clutches his backpack tightly in his hands, squeezing the straps to his shoulders. “I'm Roland! Is this your mama’s classroom?” 

“That it is,” Regina interrupts. She comes out of the door and wraps an arm around Henry's shoulders, squeezing her son close to her. “Regina Mills. You must be the new teacher? Sorry my son passed off his job onto you. Here, let me get that.” She takes the banner from him with her tape covered fingers, stepping up onto the chair to hang the string. When she turns back around, she flashes him a quick smile and holds her hand out. “Welcome to Storybrooke Elementary.” 

Robin’s jaw drops as he takes in the woman before him. Her dark hair is pulled over one shoulder, and a pair of thick dark-framed glasses sitting on her face. She’s small, and incredibly gorgeous. “It's truly no problem. I'm happy to be here.” He slips his hand into hers and feels a tingle move up his arm. “This is my son Roland. He wanted to come by to meet you before everyone else got here. Isn't that right, my boy?” He ruffles Roland's hair and lays a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

Regina kneels down and smiles softly at the boy in front of her. “Well, hello there Roland. Are you excited for Kindergarten?” 

He nods and smiles up at her. “So excited! Papa got me a new backpack and new crayons. He says I can share them with my friends. But, I don't have any friends yet because we just moved here from New York.” 

“That's okay. Want to know a secret?” 

Robin watches in awe as Regina explains how Kindergarten was some kids first year in school, so they were just as nervous as he was. He could tell, just within moments of meeting her, that she was a natural teacher. His son is captivated by her, bouncing on his toes as he talks with her about all of the things he is excited and nervous about. 

Robin turns his attention toward her son, who is quietly picking at the nonexistent dirt under his nails. “So, you're the Henry Mills I've heard so much about? You’re in my homeroom this year. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you from your second grade teacher Miss French.” 

Henry's cheeks turn a slight pink and he nods, smiling up toward his teacher. “I'm really excited. My friend Violet is in your class too. She's really smart.”  

Regina stands from speaking with Roland and smiles up at Robin. “Henry, would you like to give Roland the classroom tour? I need to talk with Mr. Locksley for a second.” 

He nods and takes Roland by the hand, walking with him into the classroom. Robin turns his attention back to Regina, happy to see his son already looking more comfortable as he chatters excitedly with Henry, showing him all of the superhero themed supplies he’d picked out the week before. 

“Thank you for talking with him,” Robin starts. “I know that he's nervous about this year. He was already nervous about his school at home, but he wasn't expecting a new school, so when we had to move I was worried he'd be upset.” 

“He’ll be okay” Regina smiles. “It's one thing with Kindergarten; the kids take a while to adjust. Some of them haven't been away from their parents for longer than a few hours, so we work a lot with socialization skills and play. What about you? A new school is always nerve wracking. Are you excited?” 

Robin nods and flashes her a smile. “Storybrooke seems great. I haven't gotten to meet many of the teachers yet, just Miss French, but that's because she's usually here late when I’ve been setting up. I’ve had to wait for Roland’s mum to get off of work to watch him, and then I’d come in later to start putting things together.” Robin leans against the wall and folds his arms across his chest. “What about you? Excited?” 

She grins, and takes a quick glance into her room to check on the boys. They're working on unpacking Roland's things into his desk, and she can hear Henry explaining how third grade and kindergarten recess are at the same time. “Oh, I'm ecstatic. This is my fourth year, and I absolutely love it. There's something great about starting out a new year, ya know?” She turns and gestures for them to walk into her room. 

He smiles and steps through the doorway, taking in the calming hues of her classroom. The room is immaculate, and he immediately wonders how twenty five-year old’s will be in a room so serene. There is a large library in the corner, filled with picture books of every kind. A sign hangs above the wall covered in dry erase boards that read  _ Everyone Is Welcome Here _ . Her desk has a black and white theme, and not a pencil is out of place. “This is  _ amazing _ . I— you had to have spent hours on this.” 

“Thank you,” she blushes, moving around to her desk, straightening up papers that, to him, are already clean. “Are you boys doing okay?”

Henry nods, while Roland bounces on his toes toward his father. “Papa! I have my own desk with my name on it! And I made a friend! Henry helped me put my things in my desk and he told me about how we get to go to recess after lunch. He said we get to play outside and sometimes Ms. Mills will let us bring chalk outside and draw pictures! Oh Papa I'm so excited now.” He jumps up and is quickly collected into his father's arms. “I like kin- kinda-” 

“Kindergarten.” 

“Yea, that. I like it already. Can we take Henry to your classroom now so he can see his desk too?”

Robin looks to Regina, who nods. “I think that's a great idea Roland,” Regina responds. “Henry, why don’t you go grab your backpack? We’ll all walk down there together.”  

Out in the hallway, Roland tugs on Robin’s sleeve. “Papa,” he whispers, tugging again. 

“Yes my boy?” Robin asks, bending down to scoop Roland up into his arms. “What is it?” 

Roland points to Regina, who is back in her classroom helping Henry get the last of his things into his backpack to take down to Robin’s room. “I like Ms. Mills,” he whispers not too quietly. “She’s  _ really _ pretty.” 

“That she is” he laughs, pressing a quick kiss to Roland’s forehead. “Does this make you a little less nervous?” 

He nods, nuzzling his head into his father’s shoulder. “A little bit,” he mumbles. “Can we call Mama this morning before school? I want to tell her all about my new teacher.” 

“I-” he hesitates. “Maybe after school? Mama’s pretty busy with her new job, so if we wait until she’s off of work it may be better.” 

Roland sighs an,  _ “Okay,”  _ into his shoulder, as Regina and Henry make their way out of the classroom. She has her son’s backpack slung over her shoulder and an arm wrapped around him. 

“We ready?” she asks, and he can’t help but marvel at her for a moment, until his son is wriggling out of his arms and taking his new friend’s hand to pull him down the hallway. 

They walk side by side, strolling slowly down the hallway in silence. She’s watching the boys, watching as Henry points out all of the different classrooms and gives Roland a mini tour of the school. He, however, is watching her. There’s a soft smile spread across her face, and she keeps tucking back a strand of hair that continues to fall out of her braid and into her face. 

“So what’s brings you to Storybrooke?”

He watches the boys run up to a window and hears Henry point out the fun part of the playground. “Roland’s mother, Marian, got a job at the local hospital running their cardiology department. With the custody agreement, Roland would have to be split between us and I- there’s no way I was making my son travel like that. I figured this job would be good for her, so Roland and I packed up and came here.” 

“I- that’s kind of you. Putting up with all of that for his Mom.” 

Robin nods, and the boys turn the hall to run towards his classroom. “He doesn’t know any less of her, and my plan is to keep it that way. Whatever’s happened between his Mum and I…”

“She’s still his mom,” Regina finishes. “I get it. Henry’s Dad isn’t all that… He isn’t much of anything, really. But he still sees the world in him, and who am I to take that away from him?” 

“Exactly,” he smiles. They’ve come to the doorway of his classroom now; can already hear the boys chatting away at where Henry’s desk is, and which books they’re going to read from their parent’s libraries first. 

“Mom!” Henry yells out, “Look how many books Mr. Locksley has!” 

“I see,” she laughs, brushing past Robin with a quiet  _ excuse me _ as she moves toward her son. “You’re going to have your hands full this year, Mr. Locksley. This one loves books. Devours through them, like he’s never picked a book up before. It’s amazing.”

Henry’s practically shaking as he kneels down in front of the shelves, eyes scanning over all of the titles. “I want to read Harry Potter first, I think. And then maybe these comics? But- Oh! Look at  _ this _ ,” he says as he picks up a copy of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. “These look so cool.” 

Roland bounds toward him, skidding to a stop to look over Henry’s shoulder. “Papa, can I read this one too? For bedtime?” 

“I,” Robin hesitates with a laugh, “I think we may want to hold off on that one until you’re older Roland. But Henry’s more than welcome to read it with his Mum, if he wants.” 

Henry spins to look toward his mother. “Please, Mom? Can we read this one?” 

“I suppose so,” she smiles. 

.::.

By the time eight o’clock comes around she’s back in her classroom putting the finishing touches on her activities for the day, and Henry is curled up in her bean bag chair reading his new book.

His new teacher is… something. 

She can’t quite place it, really. There’s something about him that she finds intriguing. He’s gorgeous, for a start. Working in a profession that is predominately female hasn’t been something that she particularly cared about, after all, some of her coworkers are gorgeous and it  _ always _ made Christmas parties a treat when they were all dressed up and a few martinis in… 

But he’s hot, and his son is adorable, and though she can’t figure out why she can’t get him out of her mind, she’s not all that upset about it. 

“Mom- Mom!” she hears, and finally snaps out of where her brain is stuck and turns to her son. 

“What’s up honey?” 

“The bell rang, Mom. I’ve got to go to class.” 

“Oh!” she laughs, collecting him into a big hug. She presses kisses to his forehead and cheeks, squeezing him tight as he giggles in her arms. “I love you so much” she whispers into his hair, squeezing him tighter into a hug. “I love you, and I want you to have a wonderful day. Be smart, and be safe, and be  _ you _ . Promise me that?” 

“I promise,” he laughs, hugging her back. 

“I’ll see you at recess, okay?” 

“Okay!” he calls out, and runs out the door. 

Her morning flies, filled with twenty five-year old’s bouncing in their seats, coloring their name-tags, rolling around the floor during storytime and counting goldfish for math. They’re wonderful though, her kids, they’re all absolutely adorable. Roland lit up when he walked into the room, like he hadn’t just seen her 30 minutes before, and wrapped her in a big hug around her thighs. 

She drops her kids off at lunch, making sure they’re all settled and eating before she runs to the teachers lounge to pee for the first time that day, and bumps straight into Mal. 

“Have you seen him?” Mal asks, pulling Regina into the lounge as Robin walks his kids to the art room. “Regina, he’s… He’s strong- looks strong at least. Maybe he can help make the sets this year? For the show?”

“He’s nice too,” she grins, reaching into the refrigerator to pull out her salad. “Henry’s in his class this year. I got to meet him this morning.”

Mal reaches in next to her, pulling out her lunchbox and following Regina out of the room and to her classroom. “ _ He’s nice, _ ” she mocks. “It’s about time Nolan hired a man besides that weasel Glass. He’s been nothing but creepy since Neal-”

“No,” Regina stops. “We don’t talk about him.” 

They walk into Mal’s science lab and settle around the back table. Regina opens her container and takes a bite of a cucumber, her eyes narrowing at Mal as she talks. 

“Regina, he-”

“Mallory,  _ no _ ,” she insists. “I don’t want to even think about that… that-”

“That asshole?” Mal laughs, biting into her sandwich. “He’s gone, Regina. And now that this other guy is around, maybe it’s time we get you back out there. He’s good looking, you said he’s nice…” 

“And he’s new to town,” Regina shakes her head. “With his ex- I think. Either way Mal, it’s too soon. All that happened with Neal was only a few months ago. I can’t…” she picks at her salad, pushing the lettuce around with her fork. “It’s been tough, Mal, and I can’t get into another relationship when he’s still looming over us- over  _ me _ .”

“Fine,” Mal groans. “But trust me, getting you laid may do wonders for your self-esteem.” 

Regina glances up at the clock, smirking as she closes her container and stands. “Why, you offering?” 

Mal opens her yogurt and takes a spoonful into her mouth, eyeing Regina as she slowly removes the spoon from her mouth. “You know that offer is always on the table darling.” 

She laughs, walking out of the room with a,  _ “Bye Mal.”  _

“I’m not kidding!” Mal yells out behind her. 

Regina chuckles as she makes her way down the hallway, picking her kids up from lunch to take them out to recess. Roland runs up to her, tugging on her shirt as the other kids throw their trash away. “Misses Mills” he asks, pulling on her shirt. “Is Papa going to be outside too? With Henry?” 

“They should be” she smiles. 

He tucks his hand into hers, trying to pull her towards the door when she stops him, explaining that they have to walk down the hall as a class, but he can be the line leader. He starts bouncing again, full of energy and excitement at going outside and seeing his new friend. When they finally line up and head outside after she explains the rules of recess, the kids burst through the door, screaming their way out to the playground. 

She sees the third graders on the big playground, and her son’s face lights up when she walks out with her kids. Henry runs toward her, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist. She lets out an  _ oof _  but collects her into his arms, squeezing him. “Hi baby” she whispers, not wanting to embarrass him in front of his friends. “How’s your first day going?” 

“It’s great! Mom I  _ love _ third grade. Mr. Locksley does this cool thing at the beginning of class where we have to answer a daily question. He said sometimes they’re easy but sometimes they get personal, and then we can share if we want! He said we might write a story too. I’m so excited for reading this year.” 

“That’s awesome buddy” she smiles, ruffling his hair. “Hey, I was thinking. Maybe tonight you and I can celebrate a good first day at Granny’s?”

“Really?” he asks, the excitement spread across his face. “Can I get a burger  _ and _ a milkshake?”

“We’ll see,” she laughs. “Alright, you go play, okay? I’ll see you this afternoon.” 

“Bye Mom!” He calls out, running back to the big playground where Violet and Lily are playing on the monkey bars. 

She settles against the fence separating the two playgrounds, watching as her little Kindergarteners play a riveting round of tag, when she feels a body settle next to hers. She looks over at Robin, who’s leaning as she is on the other side of the fence, grinning over at her. 

“Hey there” she smiles, eyes catching a flash of green as Roland barrels toward them. 

“Hey, how-” he starts, when they hear a loud  _ “Papa!” _ and his son collides with the fence. 

“Hi Papa!”

“My boy!” Robin laughs, leaning over to pick up his son and pepper kisses to his cheeks. “How’s your first day of school?” 

“I _love_ _it,_ ” Roland exclaims, giving his father a big hug. “Ms. Mills is so nice! She gave us goldfish as a snack and we had to count them before we could eat them. I counted to _five_ and then I got to eat all of them! And we read a story and Ms. Mills taught us about all her favorite things.” 

Regina can’t help but laugh at Roland’s recount of their day, how different their morning was in the eyes of a kid and not her panicking as she thought Lacey choked on a goldfish, or her worry when one of the kids almost knocked her head against the wall during storytime. 

“That sounds like the best,” Robin laughs. “Why don’t you go play and you can tell me all about the rest of your day when the bell rings, okay?” 

“Okay,” he whispers, wrapping Robin again into a tight hug. “I love you.”

“Love you too my boy,” Robin whispers back, kissing him on the head before dropping him back down into the playground. Roland runs off as soon as his feet hit the ground, headed straight for the seesaw that Lacey was patiently waiting for him on. 

“He’s a great kid,” Regina smiles, turning her head toward Robin. 

“Yours is too,” he laughs. “Henry’s quite the student. He gets excited about everything.” 

“Oh just you wait until math this afternoon… You won’t see much excitement out of him then.” 

“I knew it was too good to be true,” he laughs, calling out abruptly for a boy named Hansel to stop throwing mulch at a girl. The boy spins and throws Robin a glare, walking away from the group with a huff. “That one’s a spitfire, it seems.” 

“Hansel? He’s a rough kid. A sweetheart when he wants to be, but his Dad’s a piece of work. He means well, I think. But he’s got a hard way of showing it, and Hansel unfortunately gets the brunt of it. His older sister Gretel is the same way.” 

“That’s terrible,” he sighs, watching as Hansel runs towards Henry. “Kids like that break my heart. I couldn’t imagine  _ not _ having Roland around all the time… And yet some parents just toss their kids aside like they don’t exist. It’s not right.”

“It’s the part that makes this job more meaningful” she sighs. Her eyes shift to him for a moment, but her gaze drops to her burger when she sees his head turning to look back toward her. 

“So,” he starts, “how is your first day so far? 

She starts to answer but as the words come out, a child slips down off of the monkey bars and lands against the mulch with a sharp cry. Regina’s to the little girl in seconds, scooping the girl into her arms as fat tears pour down the girls face. 

“You’re okay” she whispers, checking the girl with a once over to make sure she truly is alright. The girl sniffles and buries herself into the hug Regina still has her wrapped in. 

He’s watching them- can’t help but stare as she whispers words of sincerity to the little girl, who he assumes is more shaken up than anything or Regina would have rushed the girl in by now. The same kindness she showed Roland that morning is on her face, all semblance of panic or fear gone as the little girl climbs up and brushes herself off, only to be wrapped in a group hug by the other kids who patiently waited to see if their new friend was alright. 

Regina gives the girl one more once-over and asks her again if she’s okay, but the little girl nods and runs off with Roland toward a group of kids kicking a ball back and forth. 

When she gets back to him he tries to pretend that he wasn’t staring at her, turns his head back to his kids running around on their playground. “Is she good?” he asks as she leans against the fence. 

“Yeah, I think she’s good” she sighs. “We had that whole ‘ _ please be careful at recess and if there’s something you’ve never been on before don’t try it today’  _ speech today, but I guess monkey bars are too exciting to pass up.”

“They are pretty great.” 

He wants to tell how great she seems- how she’s a natural with children, but it’s the end of recess and the bell rings from the school. All the kids run over and line up, and with a wave to their own children Regina and Robin head back inside for the rest of their day.

By the time 3:30 comes around and all of her kids are on the bus, she’s exhausted. 

The first day of school always takes it out of her. Last year she only made it until 7:30 before she was curled up asleep on the couch, an unread stack of “Getting To Know You” papers on her lap. 

She spread a smile across her face though when her son comes running toward her, throwing his arms around her waist. “Mom! Did you have a good day?” he asks, his face pressed into her stomach. 

“I did” she laughs, pressing a kiss to his forehead when he stares up at her. “Did you?”

“The  _ best _ .” 

Her arm comes around his shoulders as they walk back toward her classroom, and she listens to him carry on about how he still doesn’t like math, but he got to go to art today so that made it a little better. 

She spots Roland and Robin walking toward his classroom, the little boy held tight in his arms. He’s animatedly talking about their day, arms moving wildly as he wiggles in Robin’s arms. She can see Robin laughing, a bright smile lighting up his face as his son shouts more than talks, about how fun his day was. 

Henry pulls her out of her trance though, and she turns her focus back to him as they get to her classroom. “Are we still going to Granny’s tonight?” 

“You bet,” she laughs, ruffling his hair. “I do believe I promised you a milkshake?” 

He spins and his eyes shine, the quiet  _ “Really?” _ he lets out makes her heart swell. 

“It is the first day, after all. I think we’ve absolutely earned a milkshake today.” 

Henry runs to her desk and starts packing her things into her bag, rambling about how he’s going to ask Granny for a chocolate and vanilla milkshake mixed  _ and _ see if she’ll put bacon on his burger, because they are finally finished being responsible for the day so why not celebrate?

When they make it to Granny’s, Henry immediately hops onto a stool at the counter, his feet swinging with excitement as Ruby walks up to him with a notepad in her hand. 

“Hello favorite family,” she smiles, leaning against the counter. Regina pulls her jacket off and hangs it under the counter before sitting down, running a comforting hand over Henry’s back as he chats with Ruby about his favorite moments of his school day. 

Henry’s quick to order them both burgers, one with bacon for him and hers with extra veggies, as well as two milkshakes. She starts to stop him from ordering her a milkshake, but he insists that she promised, and she’s never been able to say no to him. 

Her phone buzzes from her back pocket, and she opens it to a text from Mal, asking if she’d asked out the hot new teacher yet. Regina rolls her eyes and types back a quick ‘ _ No, and let’s not bring it up to him either,’ _ before setting her phone back down onto the counter. 

Their burgers come, and Henry thanks Ruby profusely for the extra bacon piled on top of his. She keeps a mental note to make Ratatouille for dinner tomorrow to hopefully offset the mound of bacon her son is consuming, though the wide grin on his face makes it a little more okay. 

She pours the barbecue sauce onto her burger and takes a big bite, stifling a groan as she takes in its deliciousness. 

“Their burgers are that good?” she hears behind her, and turns to see Robin and Roland standing there, matching smiles spread across their faces. 

She chokes a bit, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she swallows and tries to hide the blush rising up her cheeks. 

“They’re our favorite!” Henry calls out, spinning in his seat to give Roland a high five. “Hi Mr. Locksley, hi Roland.” 

“Hi!” Roland yells, and Robin quickles shushes him. “Sorry” he whispers. “Ms. Mills, papa signed all those papers in my folder.” 

“That’s good” she chuckles. “You two here for dinner?” 

“Picking up some take out. Roland wants to be home tonight to-”

“We’re gonna watch Spider-Man!” 

Henry spins at that, “The new one?” he asks, his voice laced with excitement. 

While the boys jump into a riveting conversation about the differences in the Spider-Man movies, Robin slides up next to her at the bar, fidgeting with the wallet in his hands. 

“I think we’ve lost them.” 

“Henry could go on about Spider-Man for  _ hours _ ,” she laughs, tossing a fry into her mouth. 

“Roland too,” he smiles. “He’s excited like we’ve never seen this movie before, but when it came out we saw it in the movie theatre. Twice.” 

She starts to respond but Ruby comes up to take his card, letting him know that they’re a little bit behind and his food will be ready soon. 

“Mind if I sit here while I wait? It seems the boys are pretty engrossed in their conversation.” 

“Oh, go for it.” 

He sits down at the stool and they sit, for a moment, in silence. She picks at her burger quietly, taking a bite here and there, but all she can feel is his eyes on her, watching her carefully. 

“You’re staring” she mumbles, lifting another fry to her mouth. She can see the blush rise in his cheeks, a tinge of red spreading across his face and through that gorgeous stubble she wants to caress with her palm. 

“Sorry- I- that burger just looks really good.” 

He’s lying. 

She doesn’t realize he’s lying though- doesn’t see how his eyes trail over her cheek to the streak of barbeque sauce that he wants to remove from her cheek with his tongue. 

He doesn’t though, and she’s confused as he passes her an extra napkin from the container on the bar, pointing to her cheek with a, “you’ve got a bit of sauce…” 

“Oh shit.” She takes the napkin from him quickly and wipes her face clean, crumbling the napkin up and sliding it under her plate. “That’s embarrassing.” 

“Nonsense. You did just catch me staring at you, so I think I’m a bit mortified at this point.” 

It surprises her when she lets out a soft giggle, one she hasn’t heard since that time Neal took her to that ice skating rink and she slipped right into his arms. 

She doesn’t know what to say to him, and an all too uncomfortable silence settles around them. She starts to ask if he’s liking Storybrooke, where he’s living,  _ something _ other than just staring at her food trying to not embarrass herself. But, Ruby drops his food on the counter and before she can get another word out he’s collecting Roland into his arms and bidding her a goodbye _.  _

Henry turns his attention back to her and his burger, shoving another big bite into his mouth. He chews too quickly, which she chides him for, but then he washes it down with his milkshake and stares off for a moment. 

“I like Mr. Locksley.” 

His comment stops her and she fidgets with the straw of her milkshake. 

“I- I like Mr. Locksley too.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Regina stands in the teacher’s lounge, waiting patiently for the coffee maker to warm up. She twirls the pen in her hands, staring absentmindedly at the counter. 

She doesn’t register the door opening behind her until she hears a deep-throated chuckle. She turns at the sound and her eyes fall upon Robin standing in the doorway holding a lunchbox in one hand, a rich brown messenger bag draped over his shoulder. 

“Ms. Mills” he nods, smiling. 

The coffee maker beeps, finally, and she presses the button to brew, her hand instinctively reaching for her bottle of caramel apple creamer. “Good morning Mr. Locksley.” 

“How’s your first week been?” he asks, slipping past her to put his lunch into the refrigerator. 

“Exhausting,” she laughs, stirring a little creamer into her cup. “I might sleep the entire weekend. What about you? Third graders treating you well?” 

He closes the door and leans against the counter next to her. “I feel the same way. They are great kids though.” 

“They were my first year students,” she smiles, blowing on her cup of coffee before taking a sip. She hums, the warm liquid working its way through her, the caffeine seeping into her bloodstream and waking her up. “They’re sweethearts.” 

He grins and puts his own up under the coffee maker, waiting for it to flow into the cup. “How’s Roland? He’s had nothing but great things to say about how wonderful you are.” His coffee finishes brewing and he lifts the cup, his hum matching her own. He leads her out of the room, holding the door open out toward the hall.

A blush spreads up her cheeks and she ducks her head, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “He’s adorable. I’m not sure how one little body can have that much energy though. We’re going to work on sitting during story time.” 

He laughs again, and it’s that deep-throated thing again that she doesn’t expect from him. It had stopped her before, sent a warm chill through her again now. 

They walk back toward his classroom, sipping on their coffee and chatting absentmindedly about their sons and their students. She sees Mal out of the corner of her eye, head peeking from the science lab, grinning. Regina eyes her over his shoulder, glaring, but she sees Mal tuck her hands into her pockets and slip out of the room. 

“Hey there!” she hears, and Regina can’t help but roll her eyes. “I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced. Names Mallory Audley, but everyone calls me Mal.” 

Robin turns and smiles, holding a hand out. “Good Morning Ms. Audley. Robin Locksley, I’m the new third grade teacher.” 

“I’ve heard,” she eyes him once over, slipping her hand in to shake his. “My daughter Lily is in Ariel’s class. I teach science and math to the 5th graders. Also, did you two hear about the staff meeting this afternoon?” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s Friday,” she groans, sipping her coffee. “Doesn’t he realize that we’ve been practically living here for the past month?” 

“Apparently they already had a principal’s meeting with Superintendent Blanchard about the upcoming year and Nolan wants to fill us in. I guess with the scores from last year, they have a new plan to boost the kids up.”

“Of course, about testing. It’s something that could be in an email, most likely,” Robin chuckles. The bell rings overhead and the group hastily parts ways, back to their own classrooms for another day of excitement. 

The day passes by in a blur. Her kids were tired and grumpy, tears falling on more than one occasion when someone touched someone else’s lunchbox, or a stray crayon wasn’t picked up by its rightful owner. After the bell rings, Regina collects Henry from the front of the school and walks with him toward the cafeteria as he fills in her on his day. He tells her all about Mr. Locksley’s lesson on how to choose the right book, and how next week they get to start on their first book project. 

Regina guides him into the cafeteria, watching as the other teachers find a spot at the tables. She pushes Henry toward a corner in the room, sets him up with the copy of ‘Grimm Fairy Tales’ that he’d taken from the library, and gives him a kiss on the forehead before moving back to the other teachers. She spots Robin, who is struggling to get Roland to sit in the seat next to him, and she lets out a chuckle and heads toward them. 

“Roland, Henry is over there reading his book. Why don’t you go sit with him while your Dad and I sit through our boring grown-up meeting, that way you don’t have to listen to it as well?” 

Roland turns his head, looks up at her before his eyes dart to Henry, then back quickly to Robin. “Can I, Papa, please? 

“Go on,” Robin nods, and Roland runs off, sliding across the floor to sit with Henry. 

“Where are you guys sitting?” Robin asks, shifting Roland’s backpack onto his shoulder as it slips. 

She points to where Mal has her notepad laid out, giving them both a knowing smirk that already has Regina blushing. “You’re more than welcome to sit with us if you’d like. Sometimes people sit with their grade level, but Mal and I usually pair up for this sort of stuff.” 

He looks around and she follows his gaze, see’s Ariel waving at him. “I’m going to stick with Mrs. Triton, for now. I have a feeling I should know the run around with this, at least this time. Are you sure you don’t mind Roland sitting with Henry?” 

She shakes her head, smiling at him. “Of course not, they’re fine over there.” He’s sweet, and she feels the blush rise up her cheeks as he thanks her and heads across the room. 

She sits back with Mal, and rolls her eyes at the grin she holds. “What?” Regina asks, twirling her pen in her hands. 

“Lover Boy over there didn’t want to sit with us?” 

“He’s not— I—” Regina stammers, ducking her head. “Shut up, Mal. We  _ cannot _ refer to him as Lover Boy.”

“And why’s that?” she teases, stretching to look over Regina’s head at Robin, who is laughing with something about Ariel. “You mean the flirting he’s done with you at recess everyday has nothing to do with him liking you?” 

Her eyes widen, and she nudges Mal with her elbow. “It’s not flirting, Mal. He’s just… nice. Besides, how do you know about that?” 

“Apparently the third graders are talking about how they think you and Mr. Locksley are ‘going to date’. Lily said it’s all the gossip among them at recess.” 

Her entire body heats and she feels her face warm, at least five different shades of red. “No, they can’t be.  _ Henry—” _

“They’re eight, Regina, calm down. It’s innocent play amongst children, not a defining moment in your relationship.” 

“There is no relationship,” she hisses, biting her bottom lip and focusing on the edge of her notepad. It’s not that she hadn’t thought about it, since the day she met him he’s already woven his way into her dreams, but it’s nothing she could ever act on. It’s an innocent fantasy. “And besides Mal, he’s Henry’s teacher. I can’t do that.” 

“Then why has Lover Boy not stopped staring at you since he sat down?” 

She starts to argue back when their principal David Nolan walks into the room. He’s a good leader, one that Regina appreciates more and more each day, even with his being insistent that they have meetings too often. Behind him, though, Sidney Glass, their Assistant Principal walks in, and she shudders. They’re exact opposites. Nolan is fair and firm, with clear expectations while Glass is a weasel. It’s no secret that Glass took bribes or had favorites, and she wasn’t one to suck up to the man who tried to make her life hell last year. 

Glass is eyeing her up and it makes shudder, averting her gaze back down to the notepad. She twists though and eyes Robin, who as Mal said is absolutely staring at her. He’s got this little smirk on his face when she meets his gaze he doesn’t falter, holds it even as Ariel whispers something to him that makes him laugh. 

It shouldn’t give her butterflies, shouldn’t go straight to her gut and a bit lower, but it does and she needs to stop blushing, needs to stop  _ staring  _ right back at him, which is only making him smile more. 

Nolan and Glass start, droning on about how excited they are for the school year and all of the first week bugs they want worked out within September. It’s been the same speech since she started at Storybrooke Elementary, given by the same duo, so she silently doodles on her notepad, turns every so often to check on Henry and Roland. 

They do introductions, and she lets out a giggle when Nolan insists that Robin stands and introduces himself to the school. 

He looks shy, a little nervous, and his eyes travel over the room as he finally speaks. “Hello, names Robin Locksley. It’s nice to meet you all. My son Roland and I are new here, and he’s in Ms. Mills’ class. I’m excited to be working with you all this year, and I’m eager to learn what Storybrooke has to offer.” 

He looks around at her at his last sentence, and when she feels Mal nudge her again and snicker, she lets out a groan. 

She can’t do this.  _ They _ can’t do this, no matter how much she really wants to. 

The meeting finally ends after Glass gives a boring speech about the new bus routine, and she bids Mal goodbye and heads back to her son and his new friend, who have begun reading one of the comics Henry had gotten out of the library. Robin comes up next to her, and they just watch for a moment as Henry finishes the page. 

“Alright boys,” she starts, “it’s time to get out of here. 

“But Mom,” Henry starts, and Roland quickly joins in on the whine. 

“Ms. Mills, Hulk is about to smash the bad guys!” 

“Now, now,” Robin cuts in, “None of that. It’s been a long week, and I think all of us could do well with a bit of time away from this building. You two seem exhausted, too.” 

The boys both shake their heads, and Regina laughs. Henry had been complaining that morning how tired he was, and her class was dragging by the end of the day, so she knew they had to be tired. 

“But we haven’t finished our story,” Henry complains. 

“Can Henry come over this weekend Papa? So we can finish our story?” 

Robin shakes his head, kneeling down to grab his son’s backpack and shift it onto his shoulder. “No my boy, you’re going to spend your weekend with you Mum, remember?” 

Roland crosses his arms and pouts, and Regina can see the tantrum coming as she ushers Henry up from his spot. 

“But—” 

“No buts,” Robin cuts in, lifting Roland into his arms. “You can play with Henry soon, okay?”

“Please Mom,” Henry cuts in, burying his face into her side. “I don’t want to read the next part without Roland.” 

She looks up at Robin and they both give each other a nod, assuring to the boys that they’ll get together soon. They all say goodbye, and by the time she gets Henry into the car and the car on the road, he’s asleep in the back seat. 

They spend Saturday in the house, getting the place cleaned up after the hectic first week of school. She can never get herself together after those first few days, constantly sleeping early and letting Henry sneak a few extra snacks. It’s been her routine for the past few years, and she plans on using the weekend to get her home and herself back into a good flow. 

Henry stays in his room mostly, getting through a good bit of the game she’d gotten him at the end of the summer. It’s perfect though, and she gets her papers graded, labels folders for the students’ mailboxes, and starts organizing the paperwork her students had brought back through the week. 

Around 6, she hears her phone buzz and a text from Mal comes up. 

_ ‘Sleepover tonight? Lily and Henry can play while we share a bottle of wine? I need to vent.’  _

Regina replies back quickly, telling her  _ ‘Of course’ _ and then another immediately after, asking what they want to do for dinner. Before she has time to whip something up she heard the front door open, hears Lily running up the steps as Mal makes her way into the kitchen. 

“I picked up Grannys on my way in—figured that if I was invading your house, I owed you some dinner as well,” she says, lifting her other hand up too, “and wine. Always need wine.” 

“You’re the best,” Regina laughs, helping Mal with the bags and the bottle. They chat for a few minutes about nothing, moving through the kitchen to set up their food from the diner. Mal yells for the kids to come down, and the four of them share funny stories from the past week over their dinner. Regina and Mal share a salad and lasagna, while Henry and Lily share chicken tenders and onion rings. 

After they finish eating the kids run back up the step, with strict instructions to be asleep by 10 at the latest, and Regina and Mal find themselves curled up under blankets on the couch. 

“So,” Regina starts, drinking her wine, “What did he do this time?” 

“It’s what he doesn’t do. Every time it’s his weekend, he has some excuse as to why he can’t take Lily. And while I don’t mind it—I don’t, really. I love spending time with my daughter, but I know that she’s starting to realize that her dad is ditching her. I knew my divorce would be messy, but I didn’t expect him to get back with  _ her  _ so quickly. And now she’s pregnant, and I think Stefan is going to marry her. He couldn’t handle me, I know that much, but his daughter is watching his all happen. The day she asks me why he doesn’t care is coming soon, I can feel it, and it’s awful because I’m not sure what I’ll tell her. ‘Oh, sorry Lily, your daddy ran off with Briar fucking Rose and they’re having a baby too.’ I’d be the worst mother of the year.” 

Regina shakes her head and stretches over to the coffee table, grabbing the bottle of wine to fill both of their glasses. “She knows you’re not terrible, Mal. It’s him, and I think Lily is old enough to recognize that. She knows that you love her.”

Mal takes another sip, settling back into the cushions. “I do love her, more than anything in this world. I just don’t understand how her own father doesn’t see her the way that I do, the way that he should.” 

Regina shakes her head and hums in agreement, settling back against the couch cushions. “It’s hard to feel like enough, being Mom and Dad.” 

“What about you? How’s Neal?” 

“A waste of space,” Regina laughs, taking a drink. “He called me up last month to see if he could take Henry for a week, something about a camping trip. A ‘father son bonding adventure’ he called it. Of course I said yes, I’m not heartless, but I didn’t tell Henry. I couldn’t bear the thought of him getting his hopes up, only to be let down again.”

“He’s back from tour?” Mal asks, filling their glasses again. 

Regina nods, cards her fingers through her hair. “He’s back now. He was gone for about a year and didn’t bother to call more than a handful of times. He did call during Henry’s birthday party, but I could hear this woman in the background yelling for him to come back to bed.” 

“That dick,” Mal growls, snatching the extra blanket from the back of the couch and laying it over herself. “You need to be free of him, Regina. He’s not worth it.” 

“It wasn’t that bad in the beginning,” Regina argues. “I mean, I had a kid with him Mal. He’s not awful.”

“Neither was Stefan, but think about how you feel about him now. I’m blind to it, I know that I am, and unfortunately babe you’re blind to it with Neal. He’s not good, Stefan is not good… Both of them have this stick up their ass that steers them toward god knows what, but it’s not their kids, and it’s sure not us. It’s time… We deserve to be free of them.” 

“Here here,” Regina cheers, tapping the edge of her wine glass against Mals. 

“You still haven’t told me what he did a few months ago, though,” Mal chides, swirling the maroon liquid in her glass. “You just kept saying—” 

“That I’m not talking about it, and I’m not. It’s still too… fresh.” Regina shudders, pulling the edge of the blanket up to her chin. “There are few points in my life that I’m not proud of, and that’s one of them.”

“You had a kid at 17,” Mal laughs, slipping up from the couch to pad into the kitchen, rummaging until she finds a bag of popcorn and pops it into the microwave. 

“And I don’t regret that one bit,” Regina calls out, shifting to look over the back of the couch at Mal. “I could never regret my son… his father? Yes, absolutely. But not Henry, never Henry. I doubt I’d be here if it wasn’t for him. When Neal and I were actually good, for that bit of time senior year, I saw nothing but the world in him. And then after I got pregnant I realized that it was just a farce, and he wanted nothing more than a piece of ass. It hurt, so much… But I grew up really quickly the second the pregnancy test came back positive.” 

Mal comes back to the couch and sits down, closer to Regina this time, her head resting on her shoulder. “Why is it that the men in our lives go out of their way to make us feel like shit?” Mal asks, munching on popcorn. 

Regina pulls out a handful and pops a piece into her mouth, sighing. “Because men can’t handle strong women, and we’re the strongest women I know.” 

.::.

Robin finds himself on a bench under the big oak tree, book open in his lap as he waits for his ex-wife and son to return. It had been Marian’s weekend with Roland, and for being a doctor, she wasn’t the most  _ prompt _ person he knew. 

His feelings toward Marian have been changing more and more, especially since they arrived in Storybrooke. It’s not like she’s changed, not really, but more that when he realized that they needed to move, it was all about her. There was a moment as they were packing that resonated with him, kept him up late at night, replaying over and over in his mind. She kept telling him, in front of Roland which infuriated him to no end, that he didn’t need to move. Didn’t need to pack up, quit his job and apply at Storybrooke Elementary just for her. For  _ her,  _ like he wasn’t doing it primarily for his son. 

New York wasn’t too far away, only a few hours up the highway, but he knew that custody would be strained if Roland was to be with Marian full time. They each had partial custody, alternating every two weeks, and some weekends, depending on her work schedule. It was why Roland lived with him this week, and next, but Marian had him Friday night to Sunday afternoon. She was always busy, with being the head of her department at the hospital, and while he tried to be as lenient as possible with her, it was moments like this that he didn’t like their situation. 

She was two hours late now, and while he didn’t mind spending his afternoon reading at the park, he wasn't expecting to wait for her for so long. He planned to take Roland for ice cream, their tradition when he returned from their time apart, but with it already pushing 5:30, and Roland will most likely need a bath and a proper meal, their ice cream may need to wait. 

He hears laughter and turns at the sound, seeing Regina and Henry making their way up the path. Henry is practically skipping around his mum, talking quickly, to the point where Robin can't tell what he’s saying. He watches them walk up to the playground, and he lets out a low whistle that has Regina turning, a bright smile across her face that he secretly hopes is because of him. 

She waves, turns back and says something to Henry, then comes toward him. 

Bloody hell, she’s stunning. She’s wearing these tight black leggings and boots, a black scarf-like thing wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair is pulled to the side in a loose bun, and he wants to peel the band from around her hair and run his fingers through it, shift that scarf to the side and nip at the line in her neck his eyes are always drawn to. It’s been so long since he’s felt this way about someone, especially so soon, and the butterflies build as she steps closer to him. 

“Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Locksley,” she smirks, sitting down on the space he’s created on the bench. “Just enjoying the afternoon sun?”

He shakes his head, smiling at her. “Waiting for Marian to bring Roland back from their weekend. We decided to meet up here as a halfway point between her apartment and my house, but it seems that she must’ve lost track of time. She was supposed to be at 3:30.” 

Regina looks down at her watch, glances back up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Two hours late?” 

Robin strokes his fingers up the spine of his now-closed book, nodding. “She’s interesting, that’s for sure.” 

“Roland mentions her a lot in class, both of you, actually. But he doesn’t seem to have any sadness toward it.” 

“I’m thankful for that,” he continues. “It’s the only normal he knows now, and while I feel bad for it, I’ve noticed that he doesn’t know any different. Marian and I split when he was just a baby, and the custody agreement has worked so far. It’s just that she’s usually late with him, like she wants more time. But when I get him back, he talks about how they aren’t always together, how she’s making work phone calls or dropping him off in her office with her secretary so she can go to a meeting. I—” he stops, shaking his head. “I don’t mean to speak ill of her, truly, she’s a lovely person. I just—” 

“It’s hard,” she agrees. “Sometimes playing the role of both parents gets tiring, I’ve been there. I  _ am _ there. So you don’t have to apologize to me, I promise. I’m always here to listen. Good or bad, it’s what friends are for.” 

“Friends?” he asks, turning toward her. “You consider us friends?” 

“I’d like to think so,” she laughs. “It’s hard being in a new city, and especially when the only adult you have history with is your ex. So yes, we’re friends. People always need new friends.” 

He laughs, and a tint of red spreads over her cheeks, making him smile more. “You’re right, friends are a good thing. So, friend, what brings you and Henry out here on this lovely evening?” 

“It’s our usual Sunday routine. We get dinner, and then I let him run all of his energy out so that way he can get a proper night’s sleep before school starts, and then we get ice cream from the shop up the road. Just one scoop, but it’s enough to finish off a good weekend.” 

“That sounds lovely. Roland and I usually get ice cream after his trip to his mum’s, so that will be our next stop as long as she actually drops him off soon.” 

With that he hears his sons laughter, watches him rush over to the playground where Henry is on the jungle gym. Roland climbs right up onto the rock wall, and that’s when he sees Marian rounding the corner, their son’s dinosaur backpack slung over her shoulder. 

He stands, excusing himself from Regina for a moment before meeting Marian midway. Before he can get a word out, she’s spewing apologies from her lips. 

“I lost track of time. He and I were picking out new furniture for his bedroom, and we were at the store and I got a phone call, so we had to leave and go to the hospital for a bit. But then I’d—” 

“Leave it, Marian. I get it, it’s…” he sighs, running his hand over his face. He’s angry, with every right to be so, but she means well. He’s just tired of telling himself that, over and over. “It’s fine. He’s here now, and he seems happy. Just, call next time, could you? If you say 3:30, you should mean 3:30. I thought that you had a surgery at the hospital tonight?” 

“I did, well, I was supposed to. But it got postponed, which is why I wanted to take him bed shopping today. He needs to not sleep on the couch at my house, Robin. He deserves a bed.” 

“You think I don’t know that?” He can feel himself getting angrier, wanting to yell, but for Roland’s sake he tamps it down to an aggressive whisper. “I know that he needs a bed, Marian. He’s your son, you shouldn't have put that off until now.” 

“I’m busy—” 

“We’re all busy. But he’s the most important thing in this situation, and he deserves a comfortable bed, and a warm meal, and to not question any part of this mess we’ve found ourselves in.” 

“This isn’t my fault Robin. It was a mistake.” 

He shakes his head, can feel the tension rising through him. “But it’s a mistake that we keep finding ourselves in. Changing dates last minute, being early, being late, dropping him with someone else while you go do what you have to do. He doesn’t need that instability, Marian, he needs structure. A five year old cannot survive playing it by ear, he needs set rules. A bedtime, for god’s sake. I know that you mean well, Marian, I really do. But I also know that he’s going to catch on to all of this sooner than either of us want him to, and I don’t want to pick up the pieces every time something goes wrong.” 

Fuck, she’s got tears in her eyes now, and this isn’t what he wanted. He didn’t mean to hurt her, doesn’t want her to be upset, he’s just so  _ tired _ of all of the games involved in this. “I—I’m sorry, Marian, I didn’t mean to—” 

“No,” she shakes her head. “You’re not wrong. I know that I need to do better for him, I do. And I’m trying, I promise. It’s just a lot more on my plate than I thought it’d be.” 

“You need to balance it though, for both of your sakes. You deserve that, and he deserves his Mum.” 

She starts to reply, but the chime of her hospital phone goes off again, and he groans. It’s never ending. 

“I’m sorry,” she stammers. “I need to take—”

“I know,” he shakes his head, taking Roland’s bag from her. “You need to take this. I’ll tell him you said bye, and text you with our next meeting, okay?” 

She nods and turns off, the tears gone as she answers her phone and walks away. 

He turns back, sees Regina still on the bench, pointedly not making eye contact with him. Oh hell, she heard all of that, watched him air his dirty laundry out for the whole town to see. It wasn’t his intention, not really, but when he realized that she was going to make excuses again he couldn’t take it.

Before he can even sit down, can get the words out, she’s stopping him. “Don’t you dare apologize to me for that.”

“I’m sorry, though. I shouldn’t have let it all out like that, especially on her. She didn’t deserve it.” 

Regina shakes her head, pats the spot next to her on the bench for him to sit. The boys are still running around, but he can see Roland slowing already, Henry as well. “I don’t know Marian, nothing about her other than what you’ve told me now. But Robin, one thing I can tell you is that anyone who can run off for a phone call and not even say goodbye to their son, doesn’t sit well with me. She may be an amazing person, I’m sure of it because from what I know of you, you wouldn’t settle for less, but even still. Her heart’s not in the right place, and had you not said something to her, I might have.”

“You’re a good person, you know that? Before coming here, everyone only knew Marian as the front she puts up, and not the her that I divorced. No one could see her that way, so it’s refreshing to have someone else on my side for once.” 

“Like I said,” she smiles, reaching out to squeeze his hand, “that’s what you need new friends for.” 

Before he can get another word out the boys are running toward them, begging for ice cream. He glances at Regina and with a nod, she agrees and they all head off to the shop together. 

.::.

The next morning, Robin slips into the building with a tired Roland dragging behind him, and two cups of coffee in hand. 

There’s this skip in his step, one that he hasn’t felt in a long time. Spending time with Regina and Henry the night before had been wonderful. After their time at the park they went and got ice cream, laughing as the boys told stories of their week, talked about their favorite comic books and movies, and argued over the best flavors of ice cream. 

It was good, really good, and he was happy to have the distraction from his disagreement with Marian. He hadn’t meant to yell, didn’t want to get himself worked up over a situation that’s bound to happen again, but he had. It was nice having Regina there though to talk him back down, to justify his reaction. No one had done that for him before. 

He drops Roland off at his own classroom, tells his son to find a quiet spot and make sure his backpack is cleaned out, and that he’ll be right back. When he makes his way up the hall he sees that Regina’s door is closed, perfect, and he slips in unnoticed. 

He places the cup on her desk, makes sure not to put it too close to her calendar in case it leaves a ring, and then sneaks back out of the room before anyone can see him, or so he thought. 

“You know, she’s usually here around this time,” Mal chimes, sipping her own coffee and watching him from where she’s leaning on the opposing wall, by the teacher bathrooms. “If you want to surprise her, you may need to get here a bit earlier than this.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Robin nods. He tries to move past her, needs to get his own desk straight before his kids come, but Mal stops him. 

“You know,” she smirks, eyeing him once over. He knows she’s innocent in all of it but he feels like a piece of meat, and from what he’s gathered from Regina, Mal is the person whose approval he needs most, along with Henry’s. “There’s a school play every year, and this year I’ve been put in charge. Usually most people pitch in, but this year we’re doing The Wizard of Oz and I could sure use a bit of help on this, if you’re interested?” 

“I’m sure I could build some things,” he nods, taking a drink from his own cup. 

“Oh perfect!” Mal exclaims. “I’ll tell Regina that the two of you are in charge of set design.” 

He stops, stares at her in disbelief. “Me and… Regina? Together?” 

“It’s a two person job, and you two would be perfect for this. Thanks again!” She calls out, and she’s gone before he can get another word out. 

He hears Regina’s voice as she comes up the hall and walks from her room before she can see him, thoughts of their new partnership running rampant in his mind. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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